Vince Masuka
| Vince Masuka | |
|---|---|
| Dexter character | |
 | |
| First appearance |
Book Series: Darkly Dreaming Dexter TV Series: "Dexter" Pilot episode: Dexter |
| Last appearance |
Television: "Remember the Monsters?" (episode 8.12) |
| Created by | Jeff Lindsay |
| Portrayed by | C.S. Lee |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Forensics specialist |
| Children | Niki Walters (daughter) |
Vincent "Vince" Masuka (Masuoka in the books) is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by Korean-American C. S. Lee. Masuka is the Miami Metro Police lead forensics investigator and works alongside Dexter Morgan in the lab and in crime scenes.[1] He often cracks innuendo to the rest of the team, invokes his Japanese heritage only when convenient, and harbors decidedly unrequited feelings for Debra.
He is portrayed as obsessed with sex—the kinkier the better—and is not shy about propositioning every woman he meets, although he is able to tone it down when the situation calls for it. Detective Joey Quinn once confronts him about this trait, stating it is the reason that no one likes to be around him. Vince to harshly brush him off. However, he seems to accept Joey′s explanation when no one comes to see his speech on his newly published work, for which he has cleaned up his act and dressed formally. (His disappointment at this quickly evaporates when Debra and others defend his assessment of a crime in front of the doubting agents from another enforcement agency by exclaiming that ″Vince Masuka is published″). At Debra's request, he returns to his old self at the end of the episode, although his demeanor appears less vulgar.
In the books, Dexter feels a kinship with Masuka; he senses that Masuka is also hiding who he truly is. As in the novel, Masuka sets up Dexter's Bachelor Party and kidnaps him to get him there (where, in the belief that he had been kidnapped by the Skinner, Dexter slugged Vince in the eye just as he opened the car trunk). He is greatly distraught after seeing Rita kiss another man, and tries to tell Dexter. It is also discovered that he has a giant tattoo of a dragon on his back.
In the sixth season, he begins guiding around a group of interns, bringing them through the labs and to crime scenes. He is attracted to one of his female interns, but is forced to fire her when she steals an Ice Truck Killer mannequin and sells it online. He replaces her with Louis Greene, a tech-savvy game designer who helps Masuka with database analysis. In the seventh season, however, he learns that Louis was the actual buyer of the mannequin when Dexter mails it back to Miami Metro with a letter of complaint. Masuka fires Louis on the spot.
In the eighth season, he discovers he has a daughter, Niki, who was the result of a woman using one of his sperm donations. At first, Masuka suspects that Niki is using him for his money, and even has Debra (who has quit Miami Metro and started working as a private detective) look into her past. When he learns that she works in a strip club, he gets her a job as a forensics assistant at Miami Metro, allowing them to work together and get to know each other better.
Differences from the novels
In both the television series and the novels, Vince is socially and emotionally awkward. In the novels, Dexter views him as a kindred spirit, believing that Masuka is also "pretending to be human", and asks him to serve as the best man at his wedding. In Dearly Devoted Dexter Vince throws a large bachelor party for Dexter within a few hours of finding out about his engagement, and in Dexter in the Dark takes his role as best man so seriously that he calls in favors to hire Manny Borque, a famous caterer, for Dexter's wedding.
References
External links
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